Greetings absolutely awesome Enterprise-Tocsin readers.
Thanks for all the support in a wonderous world full of weird-stuff that happens around me every day.
From being held hostage at home by hamsters (really chipmunks with attitudes), to bears eating berries and cane poles in my backyard, to night walking and accidentally walking into a school of skunks while school was dismissed, to being a beer bottle away from being attacked by a mean, man-eating muskrat (actually an aggressive opossum not wanting to leave).
For this week’s captivating column, I decided to travel back in time and share a moment of stupidity.
It’s 1988, 35 years ago, and my cousin, Willie Smith, and my brother, Keith (Kirk) Hawkins, had decided to allow me to ride with them to Memphis on an expedition of shopping and girl-gazing.
I worked at the legendary and iconic Delta Pride Catfish, one of the worst-paying jobs that I’d ever had, but also an extremely awesome workforce full of passionate, loving, beautiful people, it’s an experience that I can never forget.
Proof that when we made less, we loved more.
I had $150 in my pocket in hopes of buying something to wear that night, because I planned to go out to Club Ebony.
Hard to believe how handsome the younger version of me was back then. Not to sound vain but I was even prettier in person.
Once making it to the historical Beale Street we were approached by an African American man with a rope-chain necklace and matching bracelet in his hand. The guy said that he had just beat up a white guy and took it from him and that he wanted to sell the matching set for $300.
Kirk stood shaking his head, signaling me that the gold jewelry wasn’t gold at all.
But me wanting to be the know-it-all, brushed him off saying “I know gold when I see it.”
Not thinking that some poor helpless white guy may have been in an alley somewhere beat up, bleeding, possibly even dying, I asked to see the jewelry.
Sometimes even wizards have burnt hair for brains, and after inspecting the jewelry, seeing the 14kt engraved on it, I took it for real gold. I offered $125 and the guy agreed as my brother continued pleading for me not to buy it. Then my cousin Will said “Kirk, leave him alone. He’s a grown man and its his money.”
After purchasing the set, I decided to prove that it was real by taking it to a pawnshop around the corner. My brother and cousin stayed out while I went in.
While holding the jewelry in my hand I walked inside the pawnshop and before I could get to the counter good, the owner said, “It’s not real, you’re the third person today to bring a set like that.”
Hearing those words my heart sunk into my underwear.
I felt like a boy riding a bike in a blizzard while wearing his BVDs.
I straightened my face walked back out and told my brother and cousin that it was gold like I said. Heading back home to Indianola I felt like crying for being so stupid.
In fact, while wearing the necklace in my cousin’s car with the music bumping, it felt like something was crawling on me. It was the necklace falling apart.
Embarrassed and disappointed in myself I never said anything about being so stupid.
However, here’s a fascinating fact, other than seeing my dream girl “Lasso” this week, in just eight months I have over 1 million reads on Enterprise-Tocsin.com making me master of manuscript.
Thanks for everything Sunflower County.
